The Washington State Committee on Geographic Names approved three final proposals during its meeting on Tuesday.

 

These proposals included new names for geographic features in King and San Juan counties, as well as a spelling correction for a canyon that passes through both Stevens and Spokane counties.

 

Once the committee approves proposals that are up for final consideration, it forwards its recommendations to the Board of Natural Resources, acting as the Washington State Board on Geographic Names. If the board approves these recommendations, the approved names are added to the Washington Administrative Code and the Board passes them along to the United States Board on Geographic Names for federal review.

 

The committee met remotely as part of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

 

 

Riley Cove is the proposed name for a small bay on the northern coast of Mercer Island. Huston Riley was a lifelong resident of the island, a U.S. Army veteran and the subject of Robert Capa’s famous photo, featured on the cover of Life magazine, of a lone American soldier fighting through the surf during the 1944 D-Day landing at Omaha Beach.

 

On that day, Riley was one of only two soldiers to make it off his landing craft alive, as it exploded after being hit by German fire shortly before Capa photographed Riley. As he struggled to make it onto the beach, Riley was hit multiple times by machine gun fire, and Capa and others dragged him to safety. Riley was awarded three Purple Hearts over the course of his service during World War II, which included fighting in North Africa and the Battle of the Bulge.  

 

 

Rabbit Chase Creek is the proposed name for a 1.4-mile-long waterway west of Friday Harbor. This evocative name stems from the many rabbits that congregate around the creek. Locals used to chase the animals to the water’s edge to capture and sell to Seattle meat markets after the 1934 release of thousands of captive rabbits led San Juan Island’s rabbit population to explode into the millions until a significant die-off in 1979.

 

 

Barney Kolker Canyon is the new proposed name for what is now called Barney Coker Canyon, located just outside of Nine Mile Falls. Kolker was one of the original homesteaders in the area in the 1890s, and the canyon bearing his name has had the erroneous spelling “Coker” since at least 1979. This proposal aims to correct that misspelling.

 

 

A small island in San Juan County would be named Basket Island, echoing the name of nearby Picnic Island. The two islands are connected at low tide.

 

A San Juan County waterway between Shaw and Orcas islands called Harney Channel would be renamed Cayou Channel, after local fisherman Henry Cayou. Gen. William Harney, for whom the channel is currently named, commanded the killing of Indigenous women and children during the 1855 Battle of Ash Hollow, and killed an enslaved Black woman, among other ignominious acts. Henry Cayou was a successful commercial fisherman who lived and worked in the San Juan Islands until his death in 1959.

 

Chain Hill, a Thurston County high point just north of Tenino, would be renamed Chaenn Hill. The hill is named after Charles Chaenn, a local landowner who passed away in 1910. In 2018, the Tenino city historian found evidence that Chaenn’s name had been misspelled.

 

After the committee approves a proposal for final consideration, it solicits comments on that proposal from local and tribal governments, and members of the public who may have an interest in a new name or a name change. The committee considers these comments when deciding whether to recommend that the Board of Natural Resources approve a name proposal.

 

Detailed information on all initial and final proposals, including maps, historical information, and supporting documentation can be found on the Board of Natural Resources page under the About tab on the DNR website. Information on the policies and procedures of the committee can be found in the same location.

 

The committee, which meets twice annually, assists the Board of Natural Resources in approving official names for Washington state geographic features. It is made up of a representative of the Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, a representative of the State Librarian, the director of the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, a representative of Washington state tribes, and three members of the public.

 

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